Universal Rank

Universal Rank is estimated the same way as Playmaker Rank. It is based on an action value model, where all actions are evaluated after how much they increase the odds of scoring plus decreases the odds of conceding. The players all actions are then summed up for every game and compared with historical performances of players in the same position group. The player then receives a grade from 0-10 for every game. The Playmaker Rank is then the average grade for all games in the dataset.

The Universal Rank adds an extra calculation where it weighs the rank for which league they play in according to PlaymakerAI's league rank. Where players in Premier League receive the same playmaker rank as Universal Rank and players in the Swedish Allsvenskan gets their rank reduced by approx. 30%. All leagues have a coefficient that is used to calculate the Universal Rank. The coefficient is based on regression analysis where historical games and player transfers across leagues is analysed.

The top 10 of the rank can be seen below:

1. Premier League 1.0
2. La Liga 0.97
3. Bundesliga 0.96
4. Serie A 0.94
5. Brazil Serie A 0.9
6. Ligue 1 0.88
7. Primeira Liga 0.87
8. Liga MX 0.81
9. Liga Profesional 0.81
10. Eredivisie 0.8

The most obvious use of Universal Rank from a national team perspective: Monitoring players’ performances at club level ahead of squad selections. With 40-50 players on a longlist, it’s essential to track their performances continuously and be able to compare them across leagues.

If you would like to compare players level across leagues, Universal Rank is the way to go.